Dare Me
by Star Ribbon
Summary: It wasn't too hard of a dare, really. Just find a random guy and call him your father until you part from him... of course, he may think you're nuts afterwards. [KratosLloyd oyako][heavy spoilers]


_Tales of Symphonia, Lloyd+Kratos, heavy spoilers, _

_Disclaimer_: Tales of Symphonia belongs to Namco. It's certainly not mine; that much I think everyone knows.

_Author's Note_: This is basically my attempt at anything remotely family-ish with the ToS characters, and it really is my first try at Kratos's character. So, if there actually was anything wrong with the fic character-wise, I would definitely love to know! And why, yes, I do love the rivalry between Genis and Zelos, which is probably why they're the secondary relationship in here.

**Dare Me**

"Remind me why we're doing this again?"

It was nighttime in Meltokio; Lloyd and his party had stopped in the town for the night to catch up on their supplies and possibly attempt to buy new equipment. That is, if there was enough money left after buying food.

Genis smirked as he crossed his arms. "You wanted 500 gald, remember?"

The brunet sighed. "Right, right. But seriously, Genis? Do I have to do this?"

"If you want the five hundred gald," Genis insisted. "Come on, Lloyd. I did it in Sybak. Now it's your turn!"

"Be a man, Lloyd," Zelos chimed in.

Lloyd glared at them both. "Shut up, you two!"

Zelos's and Genis's laughter wasn't helping his mood, in either case. Did they always have to be that annoying? When they weren't fighting, they were ganging up on him. Geez!

"...Um, What were the terms of the dare again, though...?"

Genis blinked. "You forgot? Well, you have to go up to the first adult guy you see and call him Dad. You have to totally act like it, too."

"Until we leave for Zelos's house, right?"

Zelos nodded. "I'll get all my hunnies involved in this too, don't you worry We're all gonna be in on it."

"That's what I'm worried about," Genis murmured, rubbing his temples.

"Did you say something, pipsqueak?"

Genis grinned. "Nothing at all, your highness."

"You two... Okay, I'm going in. Wish me luck!"

As Lloyd walked into the bookstore (as that was where they agreed to watch Lloyd from - Lloyd had a feeling that they only chose it because they would get chased out of every other store), the brunet sighed, mainly out of annoyance, as he could hear bits and snippets of yet _another_ argument coming from his friends' mouths. Really, now, would it kill them to be quiet?

There was an adult standing beside a row of books. Perfect for his vict... err, father.

Tapping him on the shoulder (and trying to ignore the red hair on them), Lloyd grinned. "Dad! Where've you been? I've been looking all over for you!"

He didn't respond; Lloyd mentally groaned. This guy really must've not been paying attention to him.

"Dad! Don't ignore me! You know--"

"I don't have children," He finally responded icily as he set a book back into the shelf; as he took another one, it took all of Lloyd's strength not to curse at the man.

This was definitely the final straw.

"_Father_, I haven't got all day."

...The man was shaking slightly, as if he had finally recognized that voice. Lloyd blinked.

He was sure that they hadn't met before; he was positive that this was a total stranger. Yet, something was a little off about him. Sure, he was wearing some sort of cloak because of the cold weather, but...

The man turned around to glance at Lloyd.

Lloyd gulped. _'K-Kratos...?_' He thought to himself. '_I should probably call off the dare now... Yet, if I do that, I'll never hear the end of it from Zelos __**or**__ Genis._'

Gathering the courage, he merely smiled at the former member of his party. "Evening, Dad. You ready to go?"

For someone that wasn't really his father, Kratos was acting rather oddly. His hand... was shaking. Looking down at it, Lloyd frowned slightly.

"Dad! Are you okay?"

"...I'm fine, Lloyd," Kratos finally said. His normal expression was still there (though, oddly enough, his voice sounded a little different. Confusion, maybe?)

Lloyd smiled. "That's good. After all, from the bookstore, we're supposed to get the groceries. Do we hafta get the tomatoes, though?"

This acting thing actually wasn't pretty hard, once Lloyd got over the fact that he was calling _Kratos_ (who, in Lloyd's mind, was still a traitor) his father. It... just took a little more strength to keep from laughing or frowning at the thought of Kratos really being his father.

The guy was only twenty eight or something, right? And Lloyd was seventeen. There was possibly no way this situation would work out - there couldn't be a way.

"...I don't see why we have to," Kratos commented. Shifting his bag of books (which were thick and heavy, from the looks of it), the adult held the door open for Lloyd.

However, the teenager knew better. He instead held the door open for Kratos. "You go ahead. Those look heavy."

...Was Kratos laughing? He could have _sworn_ he heard something that was similar to a laugh (maybe it was just a 'heh') as the two walked out of the bookstore.

"The grocery store is this way, Lloyd."

Oh, right! He had forgotten that he had told Kratos that he was supposed to go there. Mentally kicking himself, the swordsman nodded.

"Yeah... I... I… just... forgot," He admitted, rubbing the back of his neck with his hand.

Their walk was rather silent. What could Lloyd say, anyhow? 'How's life every since you decided to betray me and, oh, right. Almost kill me?'

Yeah, he had a feeling that wouldn't be the best of conversation starters. The silence wasn't exactly something that Lloyd enjoyed, though, especially as he looked over at Kratos.

He couldn't figure out what was wrong, but something was. Maybe it was the fact that Kratos was acting differently than the professor in Sybak that Genis was with.

That professor had just ignored Genis; in fact, he was definitely creeped out by the whole experience. Never mind that the professor had called Happy Acres and tried to get the poor guy into a mental institution afterwards. (Well, in the long run, at least Genis had learned a new way to weird out people other than by using his intelligence?)

On the other hand, Kratos... it was hard to pinpoint exactly what he felt, but Lloyd sensed that he wasn't weirded out by it all.

This feeling couldn't be normal.

"Kr--Dad?"

It was obviously a title Kratos wasn't used to (and Lloyd couldn't blame him). "What is it?"

"Lloyd! What took you so long?"

Was that Genis's voice? As the half-elf stepped out of the grocery store, bags in hand, he quizzically looked from Kratos to Lloyd. "I mean, we ask you to go in the grocery store with us and you head to the bookstore?"

"I was with... Dad," Lloyd explained hesitantly, as if he wasn't sure that Genis knew that he had accidentally picked Kratos to be the 'father' for his dare.

Genis's eyes immediately caught on; he nodded. "I see. Hey, Zelos! Lloyd finally caught up with his dad!"

"Really," The redhead interjected as he came out with shopping bags. As he too looked from Kratos to Lloyd, Zelos smiled slightly. "Well, it could be worse. Like, Raine could have been his mother."

Nervous laughter escaped Lloyd's lips.

"Zelos..."

"What?" He asked, brushing back his hair.

Lloyd and Genis pointed behind him. "That."

"Zelos Wilder! What do you think you're doing?"

A worried expression replaced his smile; Zelos turned around to face a whack on the head with a staff. Wincing, the redhead pouted. "I didn't think I was doing anything, Raine," He whimpered.

She sighed, setting her staff aside. "Looks like Lloyd's finally joined us," The half-elf remarked dryly, though her eyes seemed to be saying otherwise.

Then, she too noticed Kratos. "Oh... is that your father, Lloyd?" Seeing Lloyd nod, she continued, "Well, in that case... Lloyd's been improving since you've left. As his father, I bet you'll be glad to hear that."

Kratos's eyes widened for a second before returning to their normal expression. "I see," He murmured, as if he wasn't quite sure what else to say.

Taking his chance, Lloyd finally spoke. "Yeah, I've been trying. I don't think I'm ever gonna be as good as you are, but... it's the thought that counts, right?"

Pausing, he watched Genis's face carefully. One wrong move and he might kiss the gald good-bye (not that he cared too much about the money. It was the dignity! Remember the **dignity**!).

"Since they've got the groceries, do you need me to accompany you anywhere...?"

Kratos shook his head no. "It's fine. You need to get a good night's rest."

Lloyd turned his lips into an amused smile. "I haven't gotten a good night's sleep in a while. I... guess I can keep that in mind, though."

"Heh," Kratos murmured, running his hand through his hair. "It... was nice seeing you, Lloyd..."

"Yeah. I have to be going, so... I guess we'll see each other again... as enemies..." Lloyd looked down. What else could he say at this point that wouldn't be slightly depressing or pessimistic? Darnnit. Nothing was easy when it came to Kratos these days.

"Lloyd," Genis interrupted, breaking the silence. Motioning to Zelos and Raine, he continued. "We have to go. Tomorrow's going to be a long one."

"You're right. Night, Kr--Dad," Lloyd said, waving as he walked off.

It was probably a good thing that he couldn't see Kratos sighing, that he couldn't see Kratos place a hand over his heart to make sure that he was still breathing.

"Lloyden," He murmured, shaking his head lightly. "How did you find out...? I was sure I hadn't hinted to---"

His all-too keen hearing got the better of him. As he looked in the direction that the brunet had left in with his friends, he could hear their words.

"Hehe... so I won the gald, right?"

"Lloyd!"

Kratos could almost sense the surprise in Lloyd's face. As the seraph moved closer to the group, he could see the brunet tilt his head to the side as he looked over at Genis.

"What, Genis? It was for the dignity too," The brunet pointed out. "You did say to pretend with the first adult guy I saw."

"That's true, but... Kratos?"

Zelos nodded in agreement. "I have to agree with the pipsqueak for once. Dude, five hundred gald isn't too much. You should have called it off if that Kratos is anything like you guys said he was."

"I don't know," Lloyd finally admitted, looking over his shoulder as if expecting to see someone there. "He... acted differently than you'd think he would for someone who just declared that his enemy was his father."

Genis tilted his head to the side. "Really? You mean that he wasn't anything like that professor in Sybak when you first talked to him?"

"No, not at all! I mean, he was definitely a little off at first - I saw his hand shaking, but the store was a little chilly. He didn't even bother to call the police or Happy Acres..."

Zelos frowned slightly. "That is odd. You sure you weren't imagining things, buddy?"

"Yes. When you boys do stupid dares like the one you just performed, the poor men usually are so weirded out that I have to punish you afterwards. But... with Kratos, I think he believed that Lloyd really was his son or something."

"Or, he could have just been a really good actor," Genis pointed out. "Sis, you know Lloyd's a decent actor at times. Remember three years ago, with the lion in the bushes?"

"...The lion was never there?"

Genis exchanged glances with Lloyd. "RUN!"

Dropping his bags, Lloyd agreed - the two darted off to Zelos's house, knowing a little too well who they were being chased by.

Zelos laughed, picking up the bags that his party members had dropped. "You never know," He said to no one in particular as he walked off.

Like everyone else, he hadn't noticed that Kratos had been watching the entire time.

He wouldn't hear Kratos's sigh of relief. "Good," Kratos murmured to himself. "It was just a dare... he didn't really find out..."

-----------

A few months (three at the most) had passed since Lloyd had performed the dare that saved his dignity (though no one ever did find out if he was in for the pride or for the money). Life went on as normally as it could for someone that was trying to change the world. There was an ordeal with removing the mana links... they had closed down the final human ranch and was finally allowed to enter Iselia again. Lloyd didn't know if he was happy about the latter; he knew it was his hometown, but it was so different now.

Colette... how could have Lloyd ever thought that she had been restored to normal for a while? She was actually sick with some sort of disease. She was going to get better; he himself would see to the end of that. She had to get better. She just had to.

The group, otherwise, was slowly becoming like family for him. He couldn't imagine eating dinner at the fireside without Raine or Regal commenting about something or another, or without Sheena and Zelos arguing about the most pointless topics. Would it be the same without Genis's wisecracks, Presea's unorthodox (he wasn't quite sure what that meant, but it seemed to be a good word in her case) methods, or Colette's smile?

As for himself and how he fit in and changed? Lloyd wasn't quite sure how he had changed, or how he had improved. Raine had said that she thought he was improving as a result of Kratos's lessons from long ago, but... was that really something to be proud of?

He didn't know. In part, that was why he went to lie down on this night. Regal had expressed some concern about his fatigue, but Lloyd wasn't tired physically.

It was mental exhaustion.

His mind had brought up the dare with Kratos when he spoke to him at the Iselia ranch; it brought it up again when he went to the Tower of Salvation, where Kratos had betrayed him.

True, Kratos had never brought the dare up when they met in the future (why would he?) Yet, Lloyd had a nagging feeling that he should follow up on that.

"Would you like to see your father?"

Ugh… was Yuan behind his body not being able to move? "….What have you done with my dad?!"

This part was a blur in his mind. He could remember walking out, partly because he didn't have much of a choice, only to meet the blades of the Renegades.

"…Kratos! The Renegades and Cruxis are enemies, aren't they?! So why…?"

"Quiet," Yuan interjected, crossing his arms. "…Of course, the drug should have everyone sleeping soundly…" He added, almost if it was an afterthought.

Lloyd glared. "Drug?! …Where's my dad? If you've done anything to my dad, I'll tear every last one of you to pieces! You hear?"

Was… Yuan chuckling? "Now, now, is that the way to act when you're about to meet your father for the first time?"

Lloyd bit his tongue; he didn't like the sound of that.

"So it was you," Kratos interjected, staring straight at Yuan. "You were the assassin who tried to kill me at Hima."

There was that arrogant look on Yuan's face again. "Kratos. If you value your son's life at all, do as we say."

…..Wait a sec. Yuan was calling Kratos the father of Lloyd? Did this mean that… he was in on the dare too?

Lloyd looked away from the scene, not quite sure what to say. Trying his best to push the Renegades away so that he could at least breathe, the brunet crossed his arms.

"Oh, hi, Dad," Lloyd said, blinking as he tilted his head to the side. "Did you ever get those groceries?"

THUD.

When Lloyd broke his gaze off from Kratos, he saw that everyone had fallen to the ground, with the exception of the two swordsmen. '_What's their deal?_' Lloyd asked himself, casually placing a hand on one hip as he surveyed the scene.

Kratos looked from the fallen soldiers to Lloyd, and then shook his head. "No. Sorry to interrupt your sleep, Lloyd."

"Hey, it's fine," Lloyd countered, letting his lips form into a smile. "But… erm, you think he's okay?" Kneeling, the brunet then proceeded to lightly poke Yuan.

Kratos ran his hand through his hair. "Yuan's probably fine," He said.

This fell on deaf ears; Lloyd continued to poke the half-elf more.

"Lloyden…."

"What?" The brunet asked, looking up to meet his "father's" eyes. "You'd think that he would have known that we were father and son by now, right?"

A light flickered inside the house nearby. Both could hear the sounds of people waking up; they could sense the confusion in their silhouettes.

Lloyd glanced nervously at Kratos. "…Hey, Kratos?"

"You're not calling me your father again," Kratos responded; it seemed his tone was obviously a little amused.

"Ah, well… if you must know, it was originally a dare," Lloyd explained, looking down. "I didn't mean for it to get this out of hand…. Or for Yuan to know, either…."

"Lloyd."

"What?"

Kratos never did get a chance to finish his sentence. The door opened; out stumbled Genis and Zelos.

"Lloyd…? It's really, really late or waay too early to be up. Will you please go back to bed?" Genis asked, yawning as he tugged on his yellow pajama sleeve.

Zelos nodded, wobbling slightly (lack of sleep, maybe?) "Come on, Lloyd. All the hunnies are waiting for us"

Genis slapped Zelos's arm. "Geez. Even in his sleep, the idiot's still thinking about girls."

Lloyd sweatdropped. "Err… I'll be done in a few seconds. You guys go back to sleep, okay?"

Tilting his head to the side, Genis nodded. "Okay," He replied weakly, rubbing his eyes. "Hurry up, though. I don't want to be slapping Zelos all night…"

"Isn't Mithos helping you out with that?" Lloyd pointed out.

Genis nodded. "Yeah, but---"

"So that was you," Zelos turned on Genis. Crossing his arms, the redhead glared daggers at the half-elf. "Why you little—"

That was his cue to run.

As the two circled Lloyd and Kratos (running over Renegades too in the process), Kratos simply shook his head. "…Never mind, Lloyd. It'll be saved for another time."

"What, that you need to release Origin---"

Poor Yuan. He attempted to rise, yet Genis and Zelos slapped him both at the same time (mistaking him for each other!). Falling back onto the ground, he groaned.

Lloyd sighed. "You know what? I'm just gonna stop them by going on to bed. Good night, Kratos."

As the two swordsmen headed off their separate ways – Lloyd to stop Genis and Zelos from killing everything in sight and Kratos back to Cruxis, Lloyd could have sworn once more that he heard Kratos speaking to himself.

"Yuan… didn't know," Kratos murmured as he flew off. "But it was nice while it lasted."


End file.
